A small dioecious shrub or spreading tree, 20-30 ft. high, with sharp decompound spines on the trunk; bark light-brown to copper-red or pinkish-buff, flaky into thin lamels; young branches white-dotted by numerous suborbicular lenticels, puberulous or mostly glabrous. Leaves, narrow-ovate to ovate-oblong, rarely ovate-lanceolate, long-obtuse-acuminate, broadly cuneate to rounded at the base, membranous to thinly chartaceous (pinkish or light cinnamon-brown when young in a fresh state), glabrous, shining above, mostly dull beneath, subserrate-crenate; petiole puberulous or glabrescent, 6-8 mm. Racemes axillary, subcorymbose, glabrous, few-flowered, the male 1.5-3, the female 1-1.5 cm long. Flowers fragrant of honey, before or with the young foliage. Pedicels very slender, 0.5-1 (-1.5) cm. Sepals 4 (-5), ovate, obtuse, greenish, ± pubescent on both sides, 2 mm. Disk fleshy, entire or slightly lobed, white or yellow (orange). Fruit ellipsoid, c . 1.0 in. long, dark red or purple when ripe and edible.

Stimulates the central nervous system (plant); astringent and stomachic (leaves and young shoots);

PIER

Jangomolide and limonin (bark and stem); ostruthin (a coumarin).

Stomach problems and diarrhea (leaf); liver problems (fruit); for bleeding gums and toothache (leaves and bark); as a gargle (bark infusion)

Chandel et al., Biodiversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in India.